Monday, November 19, 2012

Too Much Christmas?


Pumkin Turkey Santa Hat
Zazzle.com
It seems no sooner than when Halloween ends, the deluge of Christmas decorations hit the stores.  The music begins, the commercials hit the airwaves, and pretty soon, we’re staring at two months of Christmas cheer directly in the face.

Black Friday has now been pushed to late Thursday.  Before we even finish our leftovers it's time to get a jump on the crowds for that fourth 46 inch television for the kitchen! 

So when is it time to begin the Holiday season?

My wife and I have been back and forth on this debate for the better part of the week.  In an ideal world, I would begin decorating for Christmas somewhere between December 1st and 10th.  That gives everyone a little time to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  My wife was ready to decorate last weekend.  I was able to hold her off, but it looks like my Friday after Thanksgiving will be filled with the task of untangling hastily put away Christmas lights in the attic.

The other part of this debate is when to take our decorations down.  I’m a day after Christmas kind of guy.  The tree is dead, the garland has lost its luster, and I’m ready to start fresh for the new year.  My wife however, would leave everything up well into the first week of January.  Just typing that sentence makes me cringe.  Our compromise?  New Years Day, I will celebrate by taking everything down.  You can imagine how I feel about people who leave their Christmas lights up all year.

I suppose I’m sort of an after Christmas Grinch.  Fine by me.  Once it’s over, I have no use for red bows, garland, messy trees, not to mention my electric bill from powering all of those lights in the yard. 

I remember this same debate when I was a child.  My father was ready to take everything down on Christmas day, while my stepmother, if she had her way, would leave the tree carcass up until Easter.  New Year’s day would come along and my dad would be itching at the chance to start yanking decorations off of the brittle tree limbs.  Usually by January 2nd, it was go time, my stepmother would relent and my father and I would have the tree stripped, removed, and out on the lawn in under 10 minutes.  She would stand by, arms crossed while making sure nothing was broken, shaking her head at the two of us working diligently together. It was an art form.

Whatever your customs, I think we can all agree that two months of Christmas is ridiculous.  We already have Christmas in July, before black Friday sales, after Christmas sales, get a jump on next Christmas sales, It’s never too early to think about Xmas 2014 sales etc.  Christmas is a great time of year, everyone’s a little cheerier,kids are excited, and it’s a great time for charity.  I love Christmas, there’s nothing like it….in DECEMBER.  

8 comments:

  1. Pete, when I was younger I was more like the women in your life, but then last year the first year with two children able to get and open their own Christmas gifts was absolute chaos with toys and crap everywhere. Guess what happened? I became more Grinch-like and wanted the damn decorations down and out of my house the day after Christmas. I got everything put away and down though right before New Year's Eve. I think in my old age, I am becoming more like the Grinch with the length of time my house is decorated. Great post and could so very relate!!

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    1. I can't imagine next year, with the baby! I'm trying to talk my wife into an artificial tree but she is not having it! Thanks for reading Janine!

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  2. Great post! I'm the Grinchy type. I aim to have the tree up between the 10th and the 15th... and I'm ready to take it down by the 27/28th. I really think the commercial hype that wants to extend Christmas from October until February is what made me start to dislike the holiday.

    I'm a natural at bucking authority, so when "the man" says I have to listen to Christmas music on every channel, starting a week before Thanksgiving... well, that just makes me want to listen to nothing but my iPod for the next 6 weeks.

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  3. I'm with you on this Pete, and it has nothing to do with being Jewish either.:) We celebrate Christmas (my husband is Catholic) and he likes to leave the tree up for at least a week after -- I love the tree and all, but it takes up space, makes a mess, and I'm ready to have the family room back to the way it should be by December 26...I'm all for Christmas being in just December too!

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    1. I agree, after a while you just want your house back! I think the jewish have it right, 12 days!

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  4. Ahhhh... I am going all out grinch this year. I have decided I am not even decorating. We aren't going to be hear for the holidays so it doesn't make any sense whatsover. But I will also admit that when I am in the Christmas mode, I am the type that waits and waits until the last minute before allowing the decorations to come down! :)

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  5. I think this might be a debate that most people have. I love decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was always a family tradition. My mom always wanted to leave the tree up a little too long for my taste, though. I'm a firm believer that the decorations should be down before everyone has to go back to work after the New Year. Great post, Pete!

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